Saturday, September 13, 2008

And he doesn't even know how good he is.

Even when we first auditioned Mohd Syafie Naswip (now more commonly known as Mukhsin) two and a half years ago, we knew the boy had this intense energy inside him. The smile was kind and gentle, but the eyes were slightly fearful. They gaze at you as if to say, "Please don't hurt me, I've been hurt enough."

Well, the boy is now a man. And man, does he have some horror stories to tell about being on some of the TV drama sets he'd been in!

Apparently, having been in a "Yasmin Ahmad film" carries with it some heavy baggage when you go on some other teams' sets and locations. You get directors shouting at you words like, "So you think you're good, do you?" And, "Don't think you're special just because you were in that film. What's so good about Yasmin's films, anyway?" And the worst of all, "Cry! Cry now! I want to see tears! Why no tears? What a crap actor you are!"

Sharifah Amani, who considers herself Mukhsin's big sister, often gets furious when she hears such stories. "Who said that to you? Who! I'll whop their asses to kingdom come!" Mukhsin, nice boy that he is, always refuses to divulge names. He'd just smile that gentle smile and coyly say, "Don't worry, Kak Nani. I'm ok. Maybe I wasn't very good, that's why they got angry. They're not all like that, anyway. Some are very kind. And besides, it's not as if they hit me or anything."

When we started rehearsals for "Talentime", some of us were wondering how Mukhsin would hold up, playing opposite Azean Irdawaty, quite possibly the finest and most accomplished actress in the history of Malaysian cinema. But he held his own, alright. What you will see on big screen, inshaallah, will not be a star and a novice, but two accomplished actors playing mother and son, in some of the most moving scenes I've ever shot.

About Me

I am optimistic and sentimental to the point of being annoying, especially to people who think that being cynical and cold is cool. Everyday, I thank Allah for everyday things like the ability to breathe, the ability to love, the ability to laugh, and the ability to eat and drink.